Modern harvesting is a synergy of manpower and machine power. As human harvesters move through fields gathering vegetables, they work in conjunction with massive packing machines that allow for rapid collection and processing of boxes of produce. Workers load the harvest into individual boxes, according to a particular plan for that product, and then the boxes are loaded onto the packing machine.
In at least one example, the packing machine is equipped with a conveyor belt that conveys the boxes to a common location for stacking and/or labeling. In existing systems, a grid on the boxes may be marked with, for example, a grease pen. The mark in the gird can denote which type of produce is in the box (and possibly how much of the produce), based on, for example, row and column correspondence. Once the box has been marked and packed with goods, it can be stacked for later processing at a warehouse.